The New Threat
by MicrowavedPeeps
Summary: Yellowfang has spotted more trouble ahead for the clans, and it's up to the descendants of the original traveling cats to save the clans. Will they be able to push aside their differences, and work together, or are the clans just destined to falter?
1. Chapter 1

A scraggly grey she-cat stared at the lake in front of her.

"Dark times are coming," she meowed.

Beside her, a large golden tom shook his head.

"Why does this always happen to us? First with the two-legs tearing up the territory, and then with the possession," he let his green eyes fall onto the grey she-cat, "What can you tell us about this one, Yellowfang?"

"I have nothing yet, it's just a dark cloud settling over the clans-"

"Sounds like a storm to me, should we really get all up in ends about a storm?" a light brown tabby snorted.

"Hold your tongue, Onestar, if Yellowfang says it's serious, then it must be so, she is a medicine cat," a dark brown tom, with a stump for a tail, spat.

Yellowfang dipped her head at the tom.

"Thank you Barkface."

"So, what do you propose we do?" a tom with a crooked jaw asked.

"I think that we should send cats on a journey again, like that time when all the clans moved to the lake," a blue she-cat meowed.

"But Bluestar!" a beautiful silver tabby she-cat gasped, "It's too dangerous, that journey killed Feathertail!"

"It will be different this time, there isn't a Sharptooth around, the Tribe doesn't need any cat to save them this time."

The silver tabby nodded, seeming content with Bluestar's answer.

"Who are you planning on sending?" a fiery ginger tom asked.

"For Tawnypelt, I think it should be someone from Cloverfoot and Strikestone's litter, they will be receiving their apprentice names soon-"

"Newly made apprentices?" a dark brown tabby tom spat, lashing his tail, "You're going to send newly made apprentices on a dangerous journey? You're no better than Brokenstar!"

"Mudclaw," a black and white tom, with a long tail, meowed in a warning tone, before turning to Bluestar.

"As much as I don't approve of the way Mudclaw spat at you, I do think he has a good point, why newly made apprentices?"

"Because, they're the best ones for the job, Tigerstar's kits are too important to the clan, and the clan comes before just the life of one warrior, and Strikestone is part deaf, so there's not really anything he can do."

"That's mouse-brained," a white kit with blue eyes grumbled.

"Snowkit, don't interrupt, this is important business, go play with your friends," the golden tom meowed sternly.

The white kit dipped his head.

"Yes, Lionheart," he mewed, before padding away with his head and tail drooped.

"So, one of Strikestone's kits, who next?" Yellowfang asked.

"You're approving this?" Barkface asked, with his eyes wide.

"Of course she is!" Mudclaw spat, "She's ShadowClan after all."

"Actually," the grey she-cat lashed her tail, "I'm a ThunderClan medicine cat," she turned to Barkface, "Yes, I am, because the longer we stand here arguing, the less time we have on saving the clans!"

"I think for Bramblestar's descendant, we should send Finchsong, she is turning out to be a strong warrior, just like her mother," the fiery ginger tom meowed, his green eyes shining with pride.

"Our daughter has a lovely family, doesn't she?" a pale ginger she-cat purred, touching her nose to her mate's.

"Enough of that!" Onestar spat, "Who is going for WindClan? I nominate Hootwhisker."

"It has to be one of Crowfeather's descendants," Yellowfang meowed slowly, "And I think Appleblossom will be perfect."

"I agree," a black tom with a twisted front paw meowed, and the black and white tom nodded.

"Wait, I just thought of something," a black and white tom with green eyes meowed, "SkyClan had no one go on this journey," he looked down at his paws, "Are we going to be left out again?"

"How do we know SkyClan isn't the cause of this?" a large white tom with black paws glowered.

"Enough of this!" Yellowfang spat, "What did I just say about us arguing?"

"Speaking of cats who are going, Feathertail died before she could have kits, so who will be going for RiverClan?" the tom with the crooked jaw asked.

"Willowshine can go, a medicine cat will improve the chances of keeping the journeying cats safe," the silver tabby suggested.

"That's a good idea, Silverstream," the tom with the crooked jaw meowed.

"So, that's one of Strikestone and Cloverfoot's kits for ShadowClan, Finchsong for ThunderClan, Appleblossom for WindClan, and Willowshine for RiverClan," Bluestar confirmed.

"And what about SkyClan?" the black and white tom demanded.

"Patchfoot's right!" another SkyClan cat hissed, lashing her tail, "SkyClan is part of the clans now, you can't just toss us aside this time!"

"Fine, how about Needleclaw?" Bluestar suggested.

The SkyClan cats nodded, content with her answer.

Then, Yellowfang, Barkface, Littlecloud, Mudfur, and Echosong gathered around the lake, preparing to send dreams to the journeying cats, with hopes that it will end better than it did last time, and that all the cats would come back in one piece, and that they'd manage to save the clans from the new lingering threat.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:**

**I'm sorry if anyone is out of character, and if the warrior names I picked for Finchpaw, Flamepaw, Applepaw, and Needlepaw are terrible.**

**They'll probably be different in the real series, but we'll all just have to wait and see.**

**Also, if you don't like everyone having a POV in one chapter, I can switch it to where their POVs alternate, or something.**

* * *

_Willowshine's POV_

The soft sound of snoring filled Willowshine's ears, as she padded into the medicine cat's den.

The snores were coming from Mothwing, who was sleeping, after a hard night of taking care of Podlight, who had just come down with green cough.

I can't do this, Willowshine thought looking at Mothwing's sleeping form, I can't just go off, and leave Mothwing to take care of RiverClan by herself!

Looking at her mentor's greying muzzle and dull fur, it was plain to Willowshine, that the golden furred she-cat didn't have many moons left.

I'm getting pretty old myself, she thought, noticing a dull ache in her shoulder, that came and went, it was usually worst on cool, rainy days.

"Mothwing," she nudged her gently with her paw.

The golden she-cat let out a soft groan, and opened her eyes, gazing tiredly at Willowshine.

"Yes? What is it?" she asked, as she got to her paws, "Is Podlight alright?"

"He's fine," Willowshine flicked her tail to the tom, who was curled up in a nest, sleeping.

"Okay, good, what is it? Did someone else get green cough?" Mothwing asked, the worry was evident in her amber gaze.

"No, it's just that I got a message from Mudfur, he says that myself, along with a cat from each clan, most go on a journey to stop a threat."

"Oh," Mothwing's eyes widened, "I hope it's nothing too serious," she shook her head, "Remember how bad the last threat was?"

"I don't even want to think about that," Willowshine meowed, trying to block even thoughts of what happened, from entering her mind.

"Well, you'll probably need some herbs, won't you? In case you, or one of the other cats, gets injured, or something," Mothwing padded over to the herbs, "And you'll probably want some traveling herbs."

"I don't know if I should even go, How will you manage to take care of the clan without me? Especially with green cough going around?"

To her surprise, Mothwing mrrowed.

"It'll be fine, I think the green cough has been contained, no one except Podlight has caught it, and you know, I was a medicine cat by myself, before you were an apprentice, and if Mudfur sent you this dream, then it must be a sign from StarClan, you can't just ignore them."

"Y-You're right," Willowshine meowed, she felt dumbfounded at the way her mentor was talking about StarClan, just a few seasons ago, she didn't even believe they existed.

A short time later, Mothwing handed Willowshine a bundle of reeds, which held the herbs inside.

"Do you know where you're going?"

"Yes, Mudfur said to meet everyone by the moonpool."

"Okay, remember stay safe," Mothwing took a deep breath, and dipped her head, "And may StarClan light your path."

* * *

_Finchsong's POV_

The sounds of pawsteps behind Finchsong, made the tortoiseshell she-cat flatten her ears.

"Go home, Flamepelt," she meowed, without turning around.

"But I want to go on the journey too! It's not fair that you got chosen and I didn't," he protested.

"Why would you get chosen over me?" Finchsong asked, turning her head to look at her brother, "I'm the first born, and the better fighter."

"Yeah, well, I'm the best hunter! Besides, why can't I come with you? Bramblestar had Squirrelflight go with her, when he went on this journey."

"Because, Sparkpelt needs at least one of us to stay with her, you know," Finchsong lowered her voice, "she still gets sad about Larksong sometimes."

"You're right, I just wish I could go," Flamepelt let out a frustrated sigh, "What if something happens, and this is the last time we ever see each other? What if you start having feelings for someone on the journey, and you leave to go join their clan, or what if-"

Finchsong slapped her tail over her brother's mouth, silencing him.

"I heard that Willowshine is coming, and she's a medicine cat, which greatly improves my chances of survival, and there's no way I'm falling for a cat outside of ThunderClan! Don't be such a mouse-brain!"

Flamepelt stepped back, and narrowed his eyes, looking a bit offended.

"Okay, okay, just let me walk with you to the moonpool, that's where you're meeting everyone, isn't it?"

"It is, but I don't know if you should come with me, this is my quest, and I doubt that anyone else has an escort."

"Oh," Flamepelt stared down at his paws, "Okay."

Finchsong didn't mean to sound so harsh, or like she didn't want him to come. She would have loved for him to join her, she didn't want to think about being away from her littermate for too long. However, StarClan sent the dream to her, not him, and she couldn't disobey them.

"I'll be back soon, I promise," she told her littermate, before making her way to the moonpool, trying her hardest not to look back.

* * *

_Appleblossom's POV_

A soft breeze rustled through Appleblossom's fur, as she paced back and forth across the entrance of the moonpool.

Where were they? She wondered, looking around for the other cats who were supposed to be coming with her on the journey.

Did they mouse-heart out?

With a sigh, she plopped down on the ground, and tucked her forelegs under her chest, wishing that she had asked one of her sisters to come along.

Then, I wouldn't have been alone, she thought to herself, wondering if maybe she should head back.

What if StarClan decided to make the meeting spot somewhere else, and for some reason, they hadn't told her?

She started to get to her paws, when a soft voice meowed,

"Sorry I'm late."

"You're not late, Willowshine, you're the only one here," Appleblossom sighed, wrinkling her nose, trying to block out the fishy herb smell of the RiverClan medicine cat.

"Oh, well, I hope you weren't waiting long."

I was.

Appleblossom didn't say it out loud though, she didn't want to start an argument before the journey even began.

"You're really old, are you sure you can keep up with us?" she asked instead.

She didn't want to be held back by some cat who should be in the elder's den.

"I can get around just fine," Willowshine meowed lowly, "I'm not as old as you think."

"Yeah, there's no way she's as old as Graystripe!" Finchsong meowed, padding up to them.

"Hello Finchsong, how is the prey running in ThunderClan?" Willowshine asked.

"We're not here to discuss clan secrets!" Appleblossom spat, she couldn't help but to feel a bit offended, that Willowshine hadn't asked her how WindClan was doing, like, ThunderClan was more important than WindClan or something.

"It's not clan secrets, I was just making conversation," Willowshine meowed, with her eyes wide, looking surprised at Appleblossom's outburst.

"Whatever," Appleblossom sighed, "Let's just wait here for the other two to arrive."

She then plopped down, and continued to wait once again.

* * *

_Needleclaw's POV_

Needleclaw had barely stepped one paw out of camp, when her father, Tree, raced over to her.

"Remember, you don't have to do this, you can think for yourself," he told her.

"I know," she sighed, "I am thinking for myself, I want to go on this journey, I want to do whatever it takes to help my clan."

"Okay, but remember, the clan isn't everything, you have to think of yourself too."

"I am," Needleclaw fought the urge to roll her eyes, "I have to go now, the others are probably waiting for me."

Tree nodded, and touched his muzzle to her ear.

"Alright, stay safe, and remember to never lose sight of who you are."

"I think she understands," her mother, Vioetshine, meowed, much to her relief.

She then padded up to her, and touched her muzzle to her head.

"Be safe, and don't be afraid to claw a cat if they mess with you."

"And don't fall in love with any cats outside the clan!" Sandynose called out from the nursery, oh, and focus on your warrior duties and-"

Needleclaw rolled her eyes, tuning the older warrior out. It seemed like whenever he started talking, he never shut up.

"Everyone, stop talking, she'll never get to go anywhere if you keep bombarding her," Hawkwing sighed.

Everyone, even Tree, obeyed the deputy, and backed away from Needleclaw.

She blinked gratefully at the dark grey tabby, glad that he had gotten everyone off her back.

Then, before anyone could say anything else, she started making her way to the moonpool.

It seems quiet out here tonight, she thought, realizing that she couldn't even hear owls hooting, or crickets chirping, it was absolute silence.

Could this be part of the darkness that Echosong was talking about?

She had been so invested in thinking about it, that she hadn't noticed that she had arrived, until she heard an annoyed voice meow.

"Finally!"

"Sorry Appleblossom," Needleclaw sighed, narrowing her eyes, "I probably would have been here sooner, if SkyClan hadn't been forced to move again."

"Whatever, can we go now? I've been waiting here since dawn!"

"Well, no one asked you to come this early," Finchsong meowed, rolling her eyes.

"Oh shut up, you ThunderClan cats always think you know best and-"

"Can you two toad-brains stop fighting?" a skinny black tom, with a white belly, and paws, whom Needleclaw didn't recognize, spat.

"Hello, I'm Needleclaw, who are you?" she asked, hoping that a topic change would ease the tension with Appleblossom and Finchsong, who were currently staring each other down with their pelts ruffled.

The small tom puffed his chest out proudly.

"I'm a ShadowClan ap- warrior, yes, warrior, and my name is Juniper-um- " he glanced to the side, "Juniperfern, yes, my name is Juniperfern."

"Oh really?" Needleclaw narrowed her eyes with disbelief, "Then why haven't I seen you at any gatherings yet?"

"Um," the tom shuffled his paws, "I was bad, so I got banned from ever going to a gathering, until I can prove to Tigerstar, that I'm a responsible warrior."

Finchsong's ear perked forward.

"Ooh, what'd you do that was so bad, it got you banned from ever going to a gathering?"

Needleclaw rested her tail over her paws, and stared at the ShadowClan tom, slightly curious herself as to what he was going to say.

* * *

_Juniperpaw's POV_

The ShadowClan apprentice stared at the two warriors, as his heart pounded in his chest.

Why did he have to go and say he was a warrior for? Why couldn't he had just told the truth? Then, he wouldn't have to make up some story on why he was banned from gatherings.

Because, he thought, sinking his claws into the ground, as bitterness enveloped him.

He was the only apprentice that got chosen, everyone else were warriors, if they knew he wasn't a warrior too, they'd treat him differently, they'd treat him like he was a burden, or even worse, like a dumb kit.

He closed his eyes, and thought hard about what he could tell them, what was the worst possible thing a cat could do?

Eating before feeding the kits and elders? Killing a cat outside of battle?

"Well?" Juniperpaw opened his eyes, and saw the tortoiseshell she-cat staring expectantly at him.

"Were you making dirt?" the yellow she-cat asked, narrowing her eyes suspiciously.

"No, I already made dirt this morning... in your fresh-kill pile," he spat, angry that she had asked such a dumb question.

"That's gross! And it's not even true, you wouldn't even be able to step five fox lengths towards the WindClan border without a patrol taking you out!"

"Back to the topic on hand, what did you do that was so bad, you got banned from a gathering?" the black and white she-cat asked.

"I don't know why this is so important, shouldn't we be focusing on our quest? I have my clan to worry about!" the grey tabby she-cat spat.

At her words, a worm of guilt started wriggling around in Juniperpaw's belly, maybe he should have been honest from the start.

He couldn't tell them the truth now though, they'd hate him for lying.

What should he say?

That he ate prey before the elders and kits, or that he killed a cat?

"Well?" the tortoiseshell asked again, with a hint of impatience in her meow.

"I killed an elder's kit, and then I ate it!" he blurted out.

The four other cats stared at him with their eyes wide open in horror.

"I meant, I didn't do that!" Juniperpaw exclaimed, realizing what he had just said, "I meant to say that, I uh, I stole herbs from the medicine cats, and used it to make my nest, and like four cats died."

To his surprise, instead of staring in horror, the other cats just looked at him like he was a toad-brain, and the WindClan cat even started mrrowing with amusement.

"Whatever, think what you like, just know, that I'm dangerous, and you shouldn't mess with me," Juniperpaw huffed, turning his back towards the other cats, and making his way forward.

What did he care if they liked him or not? What did he care about impressing a bunch of non-ShadowClan cats?  
He was a ShadowClan cat, and ShadowClan was all he needed.


End file.
